Barbie in a Mermaid Tale follows Merliah Summers, a star surfer who discovers that her mother is actually a mermaid from the mystical underwater land of Oceana. After realizing that her mother is being held hostage in a dungeon by her evil sister, Eris, Merliah must travel to Oceana to save her mother from the tyrant and give the ocean its life again.

Even just starting with the name, the word play is genius- tale instead of tail allows for the double meaning and shows exactly what the story is about. This movie depicts such beautiful underwater scenes in Oceana, and includes iconic references to real-world brands, such as a store called “Seaphora”. While I did not understand this as a kid, these subtle references make the movie continuously enjoyable to watch as I have gotten older. Merliah obtains a beautiful fake tail and the montage of her finding the perfect tail for her is so aesthetically pleasing.

The characters in this movie are incredibly likeable, and there is one seal character, Snouts, that always reminded me of my little brother. There is one scene where Merliah has to get a celestial comb from above water with Snouts watching below, when all of a sudden there is an avalanche and Merliah’s swimming capabilities are challenged as she tries to save him. This scene made me want to protect my little brother, who was a toddler at the time, and reminded me how much I care about him. To this day I think of him as my little brother even though he is in high school now, and Snouts the seal reminds me of his adorable toddler self.

Another character that I especially like is Eris’ sidekick seahorse, who is not given a name. Throughout the movie, this seahorse is expected to follow Eris’ orders and plays the horn to signal her entrance, though Eris abuses him and does not appreciate his musical talent. By the end of the movie, however, this seahorse has shyly expressed his compassion for Merliah and her mother, Calissa, and when Merliah compliments his musical playing it is clear to him that he has chosen the right side. I very much sympathize with this little seahorse and I enjoy when characters are given a redemption arc. Even though he started out underappreciated and with evil, he was able to have his happily ever after too.

Merliah’s relationship with her mom also had an impact on me as a child and made me appreciate how kind and caring my mother is, just like Calissa. An entire subplot of the movie is that Calissa is able to spin merilia, the life force of the sea, and Eris cannot. Eris gets jealous and overthrows Calissa but cannot kill her because she needs her merilia, so instead banishes her. This creates a plot twist that adds to the complexity of the movie. Calissa continues to stay positive and be the life force of the sea even as she suffers, and this strength reminds me of my own mom who continues to stay strong and full of life in the face of adversity. She is one of my role models just as Calissa is Merliah’s.

Lastly, this movie contains one of the catchiest songs- Queen of the Waves. This song will just get stuck in my head, as a kid and today. Merliah is truly the queen of the waves and I have always wanted to surf to be just like her, though I have never gotten the chance.

As a kid, I loved this movie so much I even have a Merliah Summers Barbie doll with clothes that are reversible as both a cute outfit and a tail. I even have her pink dolphin sidekick! I still have this doll, pink hair streak and all, and continue to watch this movie with my siblings. There are other movies that do have more music and I am disappointed that they tried making a sequel to this movie because it would have been much better on its own. However, it is still amazing which is why it is #8 on my list of top 9 Barbie movies.